Thousands of U.S. troops and allies were forced by Japanese captors to walk 65 miles in the Philippines during the deadly Bataan Death March of 1942. Many were denied food, water or medical care. Some were beheaded or disemboweled.
Those who survived have not forgotten, and on Saturday in San Antonio, a Japanese emissary delivered what many had waited 67 years for: an apology.
Japan's ambassador to the United States, Ichiro Fujisaki, flew from Washington to San Antonio to deliver that country's first in-person mea culpa. He made a last-minute appearance at the final scheduled reunion of the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor, its 64th annual convention.
Some of the 73 surviving Bataan Death March veterans of the Army and former Army Air Corps in attendance welcomed the apology, but others criticized it.
“Today, I would like to convey to you the position of the government of Japan on this issue,” Fujisaki said. “As former prime ministers of Japan have repeatedly stated: The Japanese people should bear in mind that we must look into the past and to learn from the lessons of history. We extend a heartfelt apology for our country having caused tremendous damage and suffering to many people, including prisoners of war, those who have undergone tragic experiences in the Bataan Peninsula, in Corregidor Island in the Philippines and other places. Ladies and gentlemen, taking this opportunity, I would like to express my deepest condolences to all those who have lost their lives in the war, and after the war, and their family members.”
His speech followed commendations to the former POWs from Pentagon officials presented by members of the U.S. Army Team Salute program, and the tearful reading by ex-POW Lester Tenney of “The Impossible Dream” from “Man of La Mancha.”
Tenney said Fujisaki agreed to come to the reunion just a few days ago. Fujisaki returned to Washington shortly after the speech.
“This is momentous,” said Tenney, national commander of the ADBC. “I don't believe the ambassador came here without somebody in Japan saying, ‘Go.'”
The ambassador's six-minute speech appeased some of the surviving POWs, but not all. Several expressed concern over the atrocities of Japanese troops who, during the march, stabbed their captives with bayonets, slashed them across the throat or cut off their heads.
Others carry emotional scars from enduring mistreatment at prison camps and cramped “hell ships” that took them to Japan to perform forced labor.
Fujisaki got a standing ovation from half or so of the 400 to 500 attendees, which included relatives of the ex-POWs. He also shook hands with some of them, pausing for photos.
“Well, we finally got the apology that we wanted,” said retired Tech Sgt. Joe Alexander of San Antonio, a two-time former commander of ADBC. “They ask how do I feel? Just chills that go through your body. ... Now we can rest at ease. We're satisfied.”
But Fujisaki got an earful from others, like former POW Hershel C. Boushey, who told the ambassador that he did not accept "your apology,” and that the atrocities and mistreatment many suffered was severe.
Some were critical because they believed the apology seemed to come from him instead of from the Japanese government as a whole, and it never was to Americans directly.
“It was long overdue, but he probably was 11 or so himself when it all happened,” said Abel Ortega, 89, who's from San Antonio, but recently moved to Cibolo. “He didn't know much about the real feeling when it all happened. But (the apology) had to come sooner or later.”
POW survivor Tony Montoya, a native of Santa Fe, N.M., who now lives in Woodland, Calif., thought the speech seemed canned.
“I don't think it was sincere,” Montoya said. “This young man knows very little of the atrocities. They probably rehearsed him on it.”
Abie Abraham, 95, of Renfrew, Pa., who served nine years with the Army in the Philippines, and more than three as a POW, said it was time to move on.
“I was never one of those guys that worried about whether we got an apology or not,” said Abraham, who is known as “The Ghost of Bataan” because he stayed 21/2 years after being rescued to disinter the bodies of his fallen comrades so they could be given proper burial.
“The way I look at it is, Japan is now our ally,” Abraham added. “Why should we get an apology from them?”
Paul Ropp, a retired Air Force Reserve lieutenant colonel who is with the organizing group, noted there might be some cultural differences and nuances that made it seem that the apology lacked clarity, sincerity and directness to Americans.
“This is about as candid an apology as anybody's going to get,” Ropp said.
‘Rest at ease'